Skein lacing machine



June 23, 1931.

s. A. GASDA ET AL 0 SKEIN LACING MACHINE Filepl Dec. 26', 1928 7Sheets-Sheet l V/ZI/ j gwuntow .Danw 12- 6 June 23, 1931. s. A. GASDA ETAL 1,811,120

SKEIN LACING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ii Mum I nmlgyggggggn June 23, 1931.

s. A. GASDA ET AL SKEIN LACING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1928 h t 3 June23, 1931. s. A. GASDA ET AL 1 ,1 0

SKEIN LACING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, .1928. 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 23,1931. Y s. A. GASDA ETAL 1,811,120

SKEIN LACING MACHINE Filed Dec. 26, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 i i! INJune23, 1931. 5;. A. GASDA ET AL 1,311,120v

SKEIN LACING MACHINE Filed De c. 26, 1928 Y 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 314mm: A.Gas fiaizl'el 3. CW5.

Patented June 23, 1931 STEPHEN A -GASDA AND DANIEL a. CAI-IILL,or.BE'rHLnHEmrnivNsYLvANIA1 ennui LACING MACHINE Application filedDecember 26, 1928. Serial No. 328,356.

Our invention relates to an apparatus for lacing skeinsor hanks ofvarious'kinds of threads or strands. j

'It should be understood that in certain of the textile industries it isnecessary to reel the threads of material into skeins preparatory tocertain operations. This is particularly so in the artificial silkindustry wherein the raw extruded strands of cellulose have to bechemically treated, dried, and dyed. In order that the windings of theskeins are kept in their correct relation to one another, and I do notbecome entangled in shipment or during the handling in said operations,it is nectel-7a 1n Fig.7; 1

essary to lace groups-of strands together at intervals around the skeinor hankp Thus the strands are kept in order and may be readily woundfrom the skeins for any purpose desired.

Prior to our invention it was customary to lace skeins of yarn by'hand.However this operation is slow, tedious and costly.

Furthermore, in hand lacing, unless care is taken by the operator, theyarn becomes entangled, thus defeatin the purpose of the lacing.

' It is therefore one of the objects of our invention to provide amachine to lace ske'ins of yarn and knot the lace to retain'it'inposition. Another object of our invention is to pro- 7 vide a unitarymechanism for lacing a skein and utilizing, substantially, the samem'echa V nism for knotting the lace as'is used for the V V "15-45 inFig. 7 ,illustrating-the knife for i 'A. still further object of ourinvention is to provide a mechanism comprising a set of lacingoperation.

lacing and knotting units so arranged and operated to simultaneouslylace a plurality of skeins and simultaneously knot the laces to retainthem in position on their respective skeins. 1

Further objects of our invention will more fully appear from thefollowing specification and claims taken with the accompanying drawings,in which;

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a skein lacing machine embodying ourinvention;

' Fig. 2 is a front view of the machine shown Fig. 3 illustrates aportionof' one formof knotting device Flg. 4: 1s a rear" machineillustrating the driveffor rotating 'the rolls for propelling the lacecarrier;

-mechanism' for operating ourlacing and view of a portion of the V Fig.5 is an'enlarged view of certain of'the gears shown in Fig Fig. 6 is anenlarged View of a portion of the lacing and knot Fig. 2'

ting mechanism shown in :Fig. is an enlargedview of the guideways anddrive means for the lace carrier;

Fig. (a is a cross section taken on-the line Fig. 8 is a View of thehandwheel for operating themanually the lace carrier;

operate d roll vformoving Fig. 9 is a. longitudinal section through theof the wheel;

10-10 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 11 is a plan viewfor pressingthe carrier against the rollerspositive step positions Fig. 10 is a cross section taken on the line ofthe leaf springs to increase their tractive eifort; v

Fig. 12 is a Fig;

guideway taken on Fig. 14 isa cross section taken on the line '1414inFig. 7;

side view ofthe carrier' guide- 13 is a cross section through thecarrier the line. 13l3 in Fig. 7

Fig. 15 is a cross section .taken on the line cutting the lace;

Fig.16' is a plan view of the lace carrier;

Fig. 17is a diagrammatic View of the lacing of the skein showing theformation of the Fig. .18 is' a diagrammatic view of the lacing afterthe knot istightened; I F ig. 19 is a diagrammaticview of the lac-' ingafter the lace is cut Fig. 21 is a modified form of guideway for thelacecarrier; I Fig. 22 is a cro 22'22 in Fig; 21 5 ss section taken online rotating the reel.

Fig. 23 is a partial cross section taken on the line 2323 in Fig. 21;

Fig. 24 is a partial cross section taken on the line 2424 in Fig. 21;

Fig. 25 is a partial cross section taken on the line 2525 in Fig. 24;

Fig. 26 is a modified form of guideway for the lace carrier at theportion which guides the latter about the outside group of the separatedstrands of the skein;

Fig. 27 is a side elevation of the guide member shown in Fig. 21; and

Fig. 28 illustrates diagrammatically a manner in which our guide membermay be arranged to lace more than three groups of strands of yarn.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2: The numeral10 designates the frame of a skein lacing machine having a cross bar 11supporting a plurality 38 of skein lacing and lace knotting devicesindicated generally by the numeral 12. Vhile we have shown three of suchdevices, it should be understood that our invention is not limited to aparticular number of these devices, but, any number may be employeddepending on the number of skeins it is desired to lace on a singlemachine.

A common mechanism may be used to operate a plurality of skein lacingand lace knotting devices, whereby a plurality of skeins may be lacedsimultaneously. The devices are preferably all similar to one another asto their manner of construction and operation, so'it is deemed that adescription of one of these devices will suffice to give a thoroughunderstanding of our invention.

The numeral 13 represents the usual form of skein reel mounted onsupporting arms 14 which are pivoted, as at 15, to the frame 10. Thearms 14 are counterbalanced by the weights 16 so that an operatorgrasping the handle 17 may easily raise the reels toward the lacingdevices 12, as hereinafter set forth. The arms 14 are held in the lowerposition by means of a releasable spring pressed latch member 17slidably mounted in a bracket attached to the frame. A lace supportingreel 18, of usual construction, is journaled at the top of the frame andthe shaft 19 of said reel extends beyond the side of the frame. Theextending end of the shaft 19 is provided with a handwheel 20 for thepurpose of manually The skeins of lacing thread are wound on the reel 18in a manner well known to the art, therebeing one of such skeinsprovided for each lacing device. Be-

.low each of the lacing skeins is a tube 21, supported by the cross bar22, having an upwardly flaring funnel 23 adapted'to receive a comprisesa bent tube 26 which is provided with a funnel portion 27 at itsreceiving end, and is provided with a truncated cone portion 28 at itsdelivery end. The lace feeder 25 is pivotally supported on the cross bar11, as at 29, and is constrained to its upper position, see Fig. 10, bymeans of the extension spring 30, the latter being anchored at one endto the cross bar 11 and at its other end to the feeder 25.

As the lace emerges from the discharge end of the feeder 25 it is caughtin the slot 31, formed in the side of the carrier 32, see Fig. 16, in amanner hereinafter described.

When the skeins, mounted on the reel 13, are raised to their positionfor lacing they are pierced by the dividing fingers 33 and thus thestrands of said skeins are divided in groups as indicated in Fig. 6 bythe numeral The fingers 33 are formed in a pair of 0ppositely disposedplates 35 and 36, respectively, which are rigidly attached at theirupper ends to the cross bar 11. The plates 35 and 36 are spaced apartand converge toward each other at their lower ends as shown in Fig. 10.

The front plate 35 is somewhat shorter'than the rear plate 36 and itterminates short of the latter a sufiicient distance to allow a lace topass from between the plates. The fingers 33 are substantially parallelat their upper end, but, they are gradually tapered toward their lowerends to constitute tapered points, and they are spaced apart to defineslots 37 which receive the groups of yarn 38 about which the lace is tobe tied. While we have shown two such fingers for dividing the skeininto three groups it should be nevertheless understood that we mayprovide a lesser or greater number of these fingers to divide the skeininto any desirable number of groups without departing from the spirit ofour invention.

The reel 13 is raised so that when the skeins are in their position tobe laced the groups 38 are confined in the extreme upper end of theslots 37. In order to confine the outside groups of yarn 38 we provideguide fingers 33 which are-preferably somewhat shorter than the dividingfingers 33.

We shall now describe the mechanism for guiding and propelling the lacecarrier 32 in a predetermined path so that it carries the lace about thedivided groups of yarn and in continuity of the lacing operation forms aseries of loops or convolutions about the lace to constitute a knot.Referring to Figs. 7, 12, 13 and 15, the guide member, indicatedgenerally by the numeral 39, is of rectangular cross section providedwith a slot 40 receptive of the lace carrier 32, and it opens, as at 41,to the inner face 42 of the guide member, so that, while the latter'directs the lace carrier in a. predetermined path the lace is free ofthe guide member and may be led or directed to a desired shape orposition independently of the position or shape of the guide member.Inother words, while the carrier is confined to a fixed path during itspassage through the guide member 39 the lace being free to pass throughthe opening at 41, is drawn direct from the feeder about the aforesaidgroups of yarn and about itself to form the knot. The guide member. maybe constructed in any well known manner, such as by casting, or it maybe built-up construction, that is,formed of.

a plurality of shaped parts attached together by suitable fasteningmeans. The guide member is attached between the plates 35 and 36 at itslower end and at its upper end to the cross bar 11 by any well knownfastening means.

The slot 40 extends throughout the length of the guide member 39 and itconstitutes, for all intents and purposes, a continuous passageway, but,in order to provide means for propelling the lace carrier through-itscourse and allow the lace and skein to be re- .moved from the machine,it has been found desirable to interrupt it at certain places, ashereinafter described.

The guide member 39 comprises a magazine portion 43 in which the lacecarrier lies dormant while theskein is being placed in lacing positionor. being removed from the machine after it has been laced. From themagazine portion 43, the guide member is continued to substantiallyencircle the lefthand outside group of strands of yarn to be laced andcontinues in a curved path beneath the intermediate group of strands ofyarn.

. as desired. 1

The guide member extends upwardly from the lacing unit 44, loopsdownwardly and then upwardly intersecting the first mentioned up- I wardextension. This latter convoluted part of the guide member constitutesthe first loop forming portion 45 in the knot forming unit 46. The guidemember then continues upwardly and is bent again downwardly, but is-warped transversely, as at 47 in Fig. 12, and

brought to the front of the loop portion 45 aforementioned; thisconvolute constitutes the second loop forming portion 48 ofthe knotforming unit 46. The guide member is again bent upwardly and then benthorizontally and continued, intersecting the second loop portion 48, tojoin and register with the magazine portion 43; this convoluteconstitutes the third loop forming portion 49 of the knot forming unit46. In order for the lace carrier to traverse the aforesaid curvedpathway, we prefer to make it of flexible material sothat it easilybends to conform to the shape of the guideways as it moves through theguide member.) 7

e For propelling the lace carrier throughthe guide member, we provide ahand roller 50 and a set of power driven rollers 51. These rollers maybe of-any suitable material which will afford the necessaryfrictionaltractionwith the carrier, such as metal rollers havingrubberized surfaces. The power driven rollers each have ashaft 52journaled in the cross bar 11 geared to the driving pinion 53 which iskeyed to shaft 54'journaled in the cross bar 11. A bevel pinion 55 iskeyed to shaft 54, and is meshed to a second bevel gearf56 which iskeyedjto the power shaft57. The latter extends longitudinally of thecross bar 11 and is journaled in brackets 58 attached to the-latter. Amotor 59 is mounted on the bracket 60 attached to the cross bar 11 andoperatively drives the power shaft 57 through the medium of a wormreduction gear 61. There are a number of gears 56 mounted on the powershaft 57 corresponding to the number of lacing and knotting units andeach gear is operatively geared toits respective units, so that, theoperation of the power shaft simultaneously drives the power drivenrollers of each of the units. Springs 62 are provided to press the lacecarrier against the rollers so as to provide traction for driving thecarrier through the guide member. A pair of these springs are placedopposite each roller and are spacedapart, as shown in Fig. 11, to allowthe lace to pass therebetween. 1 Each hand 7 roller 50 is provided witha-shaft 63 journaled in the crossbar 11 and a pinion 64 is keyed to theother end of said shaft. I A rack 65 is slidably mounted onsaid crossbar and engages each of the pinions 64. Acoil spring 66 is disposedintermediate a lug 67, attached to the rack 65, and the cross bar 11,and constrains the rack toward'the left of the machine.

Referring to Figs. 3, 6 andf2: Rotatab'ly mounted on the rack 65 is atrunnion block 68 having trunnions 69 which pivotally engage thebifurcated end of the lever 70 which is fulcrumed to the. bracket 71attached to the end of the cross bar 11. The lower end of the lever 7 0is provided with a transversely extending pin having a roller 72rotatably mounted thereon. This roller engages in a cam groove 73 formedin the periphery of the drum. 74. The latter is keyed to a shaft .7 5journaled in the end of the cross bar 11. .Also keyed to the shaft 75 isa disc 76 h aving the cam 77 formed on its periphery. A roller 78 isrotatably mounted on the lower end of a adapted to engage the cam 77.The upper end of the lever 79 is operatively connected by means of thelink 81 to a shaft 82 which is journaled on the top of the cross bar 11and extends longitudinally thereof. A plurality of cams 83 are keyed toshaft 82 and insuch spaced relation that there is one of said cams inengagement with the lace feeder 25, see Fig. 10, so that when the disc76 is rotated the cam 83 tilts the lace feeder for the purposehereinafter described. The extending end of the shaft 75 has keyedthereto a handwheel 84. The latter is normally free to rotate but aspring pressed plunger member 85 extends through the handle 86 of thehandwheel 84 and is adapted to engage in the slots 87, 88 and 89,respectively, which are formed in the circular plate 90 to positivelyhold the handwheel in a definite angular position with relation to thelace carrier in the guide member as hereinafter set forth. The circularplate 90 is fixed to the cross bar 11 and when the plunger It will thusbe seen that when the handwheel 8 1 is rotated the levers and 79 arerocked about their respective fulcrums with a predetermined angularmovement. The rocking of the lever 70 rotates the hand roller 50 and therocking of the lever 79 rocks the lace feeder 25.

Referring now to Fig. 6: Assuming the motor 59 is driving the rollers 51and the lace carrier 32 lies in the magazine portion of the guidemember. The lace is caught in the wedge shape slot 31 formed in the edgeof the lace carrier 32. The operator rotates the handwheel 20 andunwinds only sufficient lace to lace the skeins of yarn. The operatorthen raises the latter to' divide their strands into groups by means ofthe dividing fingers 33. The operator now depresses the plunger 85 untilthe groove 86 registers with the plate 90 and rotates the handwheel 84in a clockwise direction until the plunger 85 registers with slot 88.The plunger 85 having been released by the operator during the rotationof the handwheel is held solely in its depressed position by theengagement of the groove 86 with the edge of the plate 90, but as theplunger 85 registers with the slot 88 i it springs into its lockingposition to lock the handwheel.

This rotation of the handwheel causes the rotation of the drum 7 4 andtheside of the cam groove 73 rocks the lever 70, which reciprocates therack 65. This movement of the latter rotates the hand roller and propelsthe lace carrier into the grip of the power driven rollers. The lengthof the lace carrier and the spacing of the power driven rollers is suchthat the lace carrier is propelled through the guide member in acontinuous movement until the front end of the carrier comes within theoperating sphere of the hand roller. The rotation of the hand roller asaforementioned brings the stop pin 91 into the position in Fig. 7 andwhen the carrier is ejected from the live rolls it is brought to adefinite position against said pin. It will be noted the profile of thecam 73 which operates during the movement of the handwheel from stop 87to 88 takes a quick drop, as at 92, and then is continued parallel to aplane at right lines to the axis of the drum, as at 93. The shape of thecam at 92 allows the spring 66' to act quickly to rotate the handroller, so that the stop pin 91 will be brought to its position to'stopthe lace carrier, while the latter is' being rapidly propelled throughthe guide member by the power driven rollers.

During the rotation of the handwheel from the stop 87 to 88, the cam 77engages the roller and rocks the lever 79. The rocking of the lever 7 9rocks the lace feeder and depresses its discharge end into the positionshown in full lines in Fig. 7 or broken lines in Fig. 6.

As the lace carrier is received from the magazine portion of' the guidemember in the first power driven roller the lace is drawn from the lacefeeder and as the latter is depressed, to the position shown by fulllines in Fig. 7, the front side of the guide member being open andsloped transversely, as at 94, the lace is brought to the front of theguide member.

The lace carrier is propelled through the guide member and the lace isdrawn direct from the lace feeder as represented in Fig. 17 by thenumeral 95 and follows the path of the lacing portion of the guidemember as indicated by the numeral 96. It will be noted that the nose 97of the lace carrier is eccentrically disposed, so that it pushes thelace, which has been previously drawn about the yarn to the sideopposite the slot 3 1, at the intersecting points 98 and 99 of the guidemember respectively. After encircling the righthand group of yarnthe'carrier passes through loop forming portion 4.5 and carries the laceabout the lace emerging from the feeder and about the feeder and formsthe transversely, as at 102, see Figs. 7 and 13..

The carrier then passes through the second loop forming portion 48 of.the guide member'and the lace is drawn to the rear of the latter byvirtue of it being open and sloped transversely, as at 103 in Figs. 7and 14. By the passage of the carrier through the portion 48 the lace isformed into a second loop about the lace as it emerges from the feederas indicated by the numeral 104. Vhen the lace-makes its last mentionedconvolution it is drawn over the resilient hanger 105 and is temporarilyheld by the latter. It should be noted that said hanger is bentdownwardly toward the front of the guide member so that the lace hangstoward'the front. offthe guide member. The carrier passes through thethird loop forming portion 49 of the guide member and the lace is formediuto'a third loop 106 about itself. In the formation ofthe latter loopthe lace passes to the front. of the first loop and in between thestrands of the second loop as clearly indicated in Fig. 17. Prior to theforming the major portion of thethird loop the carrier has been ejectedfromthe last of the power driven rollers and is positioned by the stoppin 91, as shown in Fig. 7. be noted the handzroller is somewhatflattoned, as at 107, soias to allow a clearance for the lace carrierto, easily come within the operating sphere of the hand roller. In orderto assure traction between the hand roller and the carrier at this lastposition the hand roller is provided with a pin 108 adapted to engage inthe hole 109 at the nose end of the carrier member.

he operator now depresses the plunger 85 and rotates the handwheel 84from the stop position 88 to the stop position 89. This angular movementof the handwheel reciprocates the rack 65, by virtue of the rise in thecam groove '73, as at 110, engaging the roller 72. the hand roller tomovethe lace carrier from its position shown in Fig. 7 to a position inthe magazine portion of;the.guide member so that the tail end of thelacecarrier clears the slot 111 which is cut through the first and thirdloop forming portions of the guide member. The operator now rotates thehandwheel 20 in a counter-clockwise direction and winds in the slacklace. This draws the lace back through the feeder and, the free end ofthe lace being held in the carrier, the loops illustrated in Fig. 17 aredrawn substantially tight about the'lace as illustrated in Fig. 18. Inthis operation the tension on It willv This reciprocation of the rackrotatesthe lace, by the pull back, is suflicient to pull the second loopoff the hanger 105. I The handwheel 84 is rotated from stop position 89to stop position 87. It will be noted that the portion of the cam groove73, at 112, is parallel to a plane at right lines to the axis of thedrum 74, so that, there is not any rocking motion imparted to the lever70 during the initial movement of the handwheel as it is rotated fromstop 89 to87. While the roller 72 engages in the portion 112, the disc76 rotates sufficiently whereby the roller 78 leaves the cam 77 andallows the spring 30 to rock the lace feeder 25 so thatits discharge endis raised through the slot 111 to a posi tion above-the carrierpassageway formed in the third loop forming portion of the guide member.This movement of the lace feeder also tends to tighten the knot. Theremaining portion 113 ofthe cam groove 73'is so formed that duringthefinal movement of the handwheel 84 from stop 89 to 87, the hand rolleris rotated in a clockwise direction'and then n the reverse dlrectlon andagain in a clockwlse direction. This movement of the hand roller movesthe lace carrier forwardly tighten the knot. "The carrier is then movedto its position shown in full lines in Fig. 20. Dur ng the lattermovement the edge of the carrier passes across the laceas it emergesfrom the lace feeder and the lace at this point v1s agalnengaged in theslot 31, as illustrated in broken lines in Fig; 19, and is drawn overthe knife 114. which severs the lace between the knot and the point ofits engagement with the lace carrier, as illustrated in Fig. 20.

The knifeis so positioned that it is clear of r the lace when thecarrier is in the position shown in Fig. 18, but, in its final movementthe carrier is brought somewhat beyond said position, so that lace isdrawn over the knife. Furthermore, when the carrier is in the positionshown in Fig. 18, the lace is drawn over the extreme end of the carrier,and is therefore more remote from the knife than it is when it extendsdirectly from the slot 31 to the knot, as shown in Fig. 20. y I

Thus the, skein is laced, the lace knotted and cut, thereupon theoperator lowers the reel out of the dividing fingers. The bottom of thethird loop forming portion of the guide member is slotted transverselyas at to allow the lace to pass therethrough. And the bottom part of thelacing portion of the guide member is removed, as at 116, Fig. 7a, alsofor the purpose of allowing passage of the lace. The reel supporting theskeins of yarn is rotated and the next side is presented forlacing, inthe manner well known in the openings 121. The dividing fingers 122 areformed integral with the plates or are formed separately and fastenedthereto. A continuous passageway 123 receptive of the flexible carriermember, above described, is formed in the guide member 117. A slot 124is formed in the plates 118 and 119 to provide a clearance for the lacefeeder.

There is provided a set of power driven rollers and a hand roller forpropelling the lace carrier through the passageway and such rollers arevery similar in character and operation to those described above.

It will be noted in this modified form of guide member that thepassageway is dis- .posed in one plane through its length, so

that the various loops or convolutions of the passageway intersect oneanother at certain points. In order to assure that the lace is held atthe correct side of the intersection as the carrier passes therethroughduring the loop forming operations we provide resilient retainingmembers 125, which operate in pockets 126 formed in the plates 118 and119, see Figs. 22 to 25 inclusive. As the lace passes the sectionsillustrated in the last mentioned figures it drags over the member 125which is sloped in the direction required to direct the lace and thelatter isyieldingly retained in position, by virtue of the curvedportion 127 formed at the free end of the retaining member. However thelatter is sufiiciently yieldable, so that when the lace is rewound onits reel to tighten the knot as described above, the lace'slips off saidretaining member.

Thus it will be seen from the foregoing description that we have'deviseda novel ma chine, which is extremely simple in its construction andoperation, for lacing-a skein of yarn and in continuity of the lacingoperation the mechanism operates to knot the lace.

While we have shown our invention in a plurality of forms it will beobvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but issusceptible to various other changes and modifications without departingfrom the spirit thereof, and we desire, therefore, that only suchlimitations shall beplaced thereupon as are imposed by the prior art oras are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Vhile we have shown one form of knot which can be tied in the laceby'the mechanism embodying our invention it should be understood thatseveral other kinds of knots 2 may be formed with a slight modificationto the guiding and the feeding means of the above described mechanism.For instance a so-called weavers knot may be formed in the lace bymodifying the guiding means to direct the lace in a loop across thefront of the lacing emerging from the feeder, then, from the rear, aboutthe portion of the lace leading from the lacing portion of the guidemember, and then into another loop which passes across the front of thefirst loop and across the rear of the lace emerging from the feeder tothe front of the loops thus formed.

Then again the guiding means and the feeding means may easily bemodified to direct the lace to form a reef knot. To form the latterknot, the lace is first looped, from above, about the lace emerging fromthe feeder across the front and around the portion of the lace from thelacing portion of the guide member. The lace is then looped, frombeneath, about the lace emerging from the feeder and through the firstloop from the front of the latter.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, means for dividing thestrands of the skein into groups, a lace feeder, a lace carrier, meansto guide the carrier in a predetermined path above, below, and betweensaid groups and also about the portion of the lace emerging from saidfeeder remote from said skein and means to propel said carrier alongsaid guide means.

2. As :an article of manufacture a carrier which is flexible through themajor portion of this length adapted to flex into changing sinuousformation and adapted to carry the lace in a skein lacing machine.

3. In a machine for lacing a. skein of material, means'for supportingthe skein, means for dividing the strands of the skein into groups, alace feeder, a lace carrier, means for guiding said carrier through anintersecting path about said groups and in a convolute path about saidfeeder, and means for propelling said carrier through said guidingmeans.

4. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, means for supporting askein, means for dividing the strands of a skein into groups, a lacefeeder, a movable carrier adapted to hold a lace, means for moving saidcarrier, means for guiding the carrier 1 between and across said groupsin an intersecting path, means to guide said carrier ina'convolutedjp'ath about-the lace emerging from the-feeder so that whenthe lace is tensioned a knot will form therein, means to move thecarrier to release the lace, means to move the carrier to engage thelace, and means for cutting the lace.

5. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, means for dividingstrands of a skein IJI into groups, a flexible lace carrier, means forguiding said carrier between said groups and inalooped pathway remotefrom said groups, and means to propel said carrier along said guidingmeans.

6; In a machine for lacing a skein of material, means for dividing thestrands of a skein into groups, a movable carrier adapted to hold alace, means to guide said carrier, and meansto move said carrier throughsaid guiding means whereby the lace is carried between and across saidgroups and continued in a pathway to form convolutio-ns constituting aknot.

7. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a movable carrieradapted to hold a lace, a cutter member, a guide member constituting acontinuous passageway for said carrier, and means to move said carrierthrough said guiding means whereby the skein is laced, a knot formedin-the lace and the lace is cut solely by the movement of the carrierthrough said passageway.

8. In a machine for lacing a skein of ma- .terial, a movable carrieradapted to hold a lace, a cutter member, means to guide said carrierconstituting a passageway, and means to move said carrier through saidguiding means whereby the skein is laced and the lace formed into loopsconstituting a knot and the lace is released'from the carrier and thecarrier is again caused to engage the lace and the lace is cut solely bythe movement of the carrier through said passageway.

9. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a carrier which isflexible through the major portion of its length adapted to hold a lace,and means to guide the carrier in a sinuous path.

10. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a flexible carrieradapted to hold a lace, and guide member having curved portions adaptedto direct said carrier through the mass of material constituting theskein, acr'osstheskein, over the edge of the skein, across the skein,again through said mass, across the skein, and over the opposite'edge ofthe skein.

11. In a machinefor lacing a skein of material, means to support a skeinof yarn, means to divide said skein into groups of yarn, a curvedguiding member about at least one of said groups of yarn,-a lace feeder,a

cutter member, a plurality of curved guiding members about said feeder,a flexible carrier member adaptedto hold a lace, said guiding membersbeing disposed in alignment for the passage of the carrier member fromoneto theother, means to move said carrier through the-passagewayconstituted by said guiding members to'lacethe skein and form a knot' inthe lace and move said carrier to release the lace and move-thecarrierto engagethelace and cause thecutter to cut the lace, means means tomovethe two first mentioned means 1 lace a skein, means to move and flexsaid carrier to knot the ends of the lace, means to move the carrier torelease the lace, and

means to cut the lace. 13. In a machine for lacing a skem of material, asource of lace supply, means for carry-- ing a lace, means for guidingsaid carrier means through a mass of material constituting a skein andabout the portions of the skein thus divided and continuing in a pathwayto loop the lace about itself,-means to motivate said carrier meansalong said guide means, means to tighten the loops thus formed about thelace, means to release the lace from said carrying means, and means tocut the lace from the source of lace supply.

14. In a machine for lacing a skein of mate rial, means for supporting askein, means for dividing the strands of the skein into groups,guideways adapted to be placed about said groups, a lace feeder, aplurality of curved guideways about said feeder, a flexible carrieradapted to hold a lace, said guideways being aligned so as toconstitutean extended passageway for said carrier, means to move saidcarrierforwardly through said passageway,vmeans to movethe carrier rearwardlyto'release the lace, means to move the carrier forwardly to engage thelace emerging fromsaid feeder, and means to out the lace during one ofthe aforesaid movements of said car;-

rier.

15. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, means for supporting askein of yarn, means to divide the strands of said skein into groups,means to carry a lace between and across said groups, means adapted tocast a loop about a lace, means adapted to cast a secondloop about saidlace so that it crosses the first loop, and means adapted to cast athird loop about said lace so that the latter passes through the secondloop. v

16. In a machine for lacing a skein of'material, means adapted to carrya lace through andacross amass of strands constituting a skein of yarn,means adapted to-supply' a-lace for said carrylng means, means adaptedto cast a loop about said lace, means adapted to cast a second loopaboutsaid'lace so that it crosses the first loop,- means adapted to cast athird loop about said lace so that the latter passes through the secondloop,.means' adapted to tighten theloops thusformed to form a knot, andmeans adapted to out said lace.

17 In a machine for tying a knot, a flat elongated flexible stringcarrier means adapted to guide said carrier'to cast a loop in string,meansadapted to guide said carrier to cast a second loop in said stringand across the first loop, means adapted to guide said carrier to cast athird loop in said string so that the latter is passed through thesecond loop, and means for moving said carrier.

18. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a movable lace car ier,guiding means constituting a passageway, and means to move said carrierthrough said passageway whereby the skein is laced and the lace islooped in the form of a knot solely by the movement of the carrierthrough said passageway.

19. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a curved guide memberadapted to be placed about a skein, a second curved guide member incontinuity with the first guide member, a third curved guide member incontinuity with the second guide member, a fourth curved guide member incontinuity with the third guide member and also the first guide member,a flexible lace carrier, and means to move said carrier along said guidemembers.

20. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a curved guide memberadapted to be placed about a skein, a lace carrier, and means to movesaid carrier along said guide member.

21. In a machine for tying a knot, a curved guide member havingintersecting passageways disposed in a common plane, a flexible carriermember, and means to move said carrier member along said guide member.

22. In a machine for tying a knot, a curved guide member comprising afirst loop form ing portion, a second loop forming portion,

a third loop forming portion, a portion interconnecting the first andlast mentioned portion, a flat elongated flexible carrier member, andmeans to move the latter along said guide member.

28. In a machine for tying a knot, a curved guide member comprising afirst loop formlng portion, a second loop form ng portion, a third loopforming portion, sa1d portions being disposed in a common plane, meansfor conveying a lace or strmg along sa1d guide member, means fordirecting the lace to one side of the guide member as it passes alongthe first loop forming portion, means for d1- recting the lace to theother side of the guide member as it passes along the second loopforming portion, means for sustaining the lace as itpasses along thelatter port1on,means for directing the lace to the first mentioned sideof the guide member as it passes along the third loop forming portion ofthe guide member and means engaging the conveying means intermediate itsends for moving it along said guide member.

242. A machine for lacing a skein of material, a support, a plurality ofunitary lacing and lace knotting devices mounted on said support, ameans adapted to support a plurality of skeins in aligned relation tosaid devices respectively, means adapted to move saidsupports'relatively 'to each other, and means to operate said devices inunison.

25. A machine for lacing a skein of material, a lacing device and a laceknotting device of unitary construction, and an element common to bothdevices for carrying the lace in the lacing operation and to completeknotting operation.

26. A machine for lacing a skein of material, a lacing device and laceknotting device of unitary construction comprising curved guideways, anda flexible element for carrying a lace common to said devices adapted tocoact with said guideways.

27. A machine for lacing a skein of ma terial, means for dividing thestrands of a skein into groups, a guide member having a loopedintersecting passageway adapted to be placed in lacing operativeposition with respect to said groups and having a looped intersectingpassageway in the same plane as the first mentioned passageway adaptedto be placed in knotting operative position with respect to a lace, anelement adapted to coact with said guide member to lace a skein and nota lace, and means to actuate said element.

28. A machine for lacing a skein of material comprising, a guide memberformed of a pair of oppositely disposed spaced members having a grooveformed in each opposed face thereof constituting a looped intersectlngpassageway, a. lace carrier adapted to operate in said passageway, andmeans to guide and temporarily hold a lace at the side of thepassageway.

29. A machine for lacing a skein of material comprising, a guide member,said guide member being formed of a pair of oppositely disposed spacedmembers having a groove formed in each opposed face thereof constitutinga looped intersecting passageway, and a lace carrier adapted to operatein said passageway.

30. A machine for lacing a skein of material comprising, means fordividing the strands of a skein into groups, a lace feeder, a lacecarrier, a guide member, a plurality of power driven devices for movingthe carrier along said guide member, a manually operated device formoving the carrier along the guide member, and means to cut the lace.

31. A machine for lacing a skein of material comprising, means fordividing the strands of a skein into groups, a lace feeder, a lacecarrier, a guide member, a cutter element, a power driven device formoving the carrier along said guide member about said groups and inconvolutions about a lace, a manually operated device for moving saidcarrier along said guide member to complete said convolutions to formconvolutes in a lace to constitute a knot, means to operate the manuallyoperated device to move the carrier to release the lace, means tooperate the i as latter device to move the carrier to engage the lace,and means to operate the latter device to move the carrier whereby itcoacts with the cutter element to cut the lace. 32. A machine for lacinga skein of material a plurality of lacing and lace knotting units eachcomprising, a guide member, a lace carrier, a cutter member, and meansto move the lace carriers of the units simultaneously along therespective guide members, whereby a plurality of skeins are lacedsimultaneously and whereby the several laces are knotted simultaneouslyand whereby the several laces are cut simultaneously.

33. A machine for lacing a skein of material, a lacing device, alaceknotting device, a lace carrier common to both of said devices, a guidemeans receptive of said carrier for directing the lace to lace the skeinand form a knot in the lace, and means to propel the carrier along saidguide means.

34. A machine for lacing a skein of material, alace carrier, a guidemeans for directing the carrier in a closed circuit, and

means to propel the carrier along said guide means.

35. A machine for lacing a skein of material, a lace carrier, a guidemeans receptive of said carrier for directing the lace in a lacingoperation, a guide means receptive of sald carrier in continuity withthe first mentioned means for directing the lace in the lace knottingoperation, and means to propel the carrier along said guide means.

36. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, means for dividingstrands of a skein into groups, a lace carrier, means for guiding saidcarrier between said groups to lace the skein and in a looped pathwayremote from said groups to form a knot in the lace, and means to propelsaid carrier along said guiding means.

37. In a machine for lacing a skein of material, a lace carrier, meansto guide the carrier through and across the skein whereby the lacecarried by said carrier laces the material of the skein into groups,means in continuity with the first mentioned means to guide said carrierwhereby said lace is formed into a loop remote from said skein, means toguide said carrier whereby said lace is directed through the loop thusformed, and means to move said carrier along the two first mentionedguide means.

38. In combination, a guide member hav ing intersecting passagewaysdisposed in a common plane, a lace carrier, and means to elongated lacecarrier, and a roller adapted to engage the sideof said carrier andpropel signatures.

STEPHEN A. GASDA. DANIEL R. CAHILL.

propel said carrier along said passageways.

39. In combination, a guide member having a curved surface, a flatelongated flexible lace carrier, and means to engage said carrierintermediate its ends'to propel it along said guide member.

40. In combination, a guide member hav- 65 ing a passageway open at itsside, a flexible

